Saturate Austin

Spring Church Planting Essentials Training Kick-off April 12

Join the conversation about the Art and Science of Planting a Missional, Gospel Centered Church at the Church Plant Training Center at Hill Country Bible Church, starting Monday, April 12, 2010.  

Engage a host of subject matter experts including Tim Hawks, Brandon Hatmaker, John Herrington, John Reeves, and many thriving current planters  for an eight-session training course-- mondays from 9-3:30-- designed to help you plant a high-impact, missional church. 

Hill Country's association has planted 19 churches (currently three planters in training) in greater Austin and has partnered with many others who are part of a like-minded, gospel-centered movement that has a sense of owning responsibility for the redemption and restoration of the whole city.

Their goal is to see one hundred churches planted in greater Austin by 2014, and they know they cannot do it alone.  Last fall eighteen different planters from twelve denominations attended this instructive nuts and bolts learning opportunity. 

Whether you are just getting started, or just want a refresher, Church Planting Essentials training will help you and your team …

• Think through the larger questions before you start
• Develop a network of fellow church planters in the city
  
• Exegete your community
• Learn how to enlist a team
•  Think through your vision
  
• Develop greater self-awareness
• Refine your strategy
• Contextualize your evangelism
•  Learn how to put together a tactical ministry plan
• Craft a realistic budget
• Develop an effective communication plan

RSVP via email to lcarlson@hcbc.com.  Or for more information, call John Herrington at 512-331-5050.

Looking for Church Planters

Each day at 10:02 am, I pray for the Harvest in Austin and the workers who labor for the Harvest. I am enouraged by what I see as cooperation between the churches to saturate this city with the gospel, but there is so much work to be done yet. Austin is far from being a Christian city, we have pockets of believers, but there are many, many more pockets of lostness yet to be penetrated by the gospel. To that end, we continue to search for laborers for the Harvest. We're looking for a few good men qualified, gifted, willing and passionate about reaching our city. This spring we will host a Church Planting Assessment Event to invite into the 2010-11 Church Planting Residency program.

 

Residency Midpoint...Six Months In

Often prospective church planters want to know what really happens in a residency. They are wisely assessing the costs and considering if they are willing...or able to make the sacrifices required. Others simply want to know "what is it like to plant a church...really". Take a peek into the Midpoint Reflections of Seth Kniep, one of our current church planters:

To say that God is good is to understate.

Last night Kimberly and I reminisced about the last 6 months since we arrived in Austin. We concluded that this has been the most enjoyable 6 months of our lives. Incredibly hard but never have we enjoyed God, life, and people more.

Here's a recap of what's been really hard:

* Discouragement.
Discouragement is a favorite toy from Satan's toy box. Sometimes it's rational, many times it's not. Either way, we've had to accept that fact that some days we will feel heavy and oppressed and that's okay. We are comforted to know that Jesus and David often felt the same way.

* Temptation.
Temptation in every area of our life has doubled in strength. It's a weird thing but you can be minding your own business, doing what you need to do, and suddenly a flood of anger, fear, lust, pride, or something else shows up from nowhere and the pull is incredibly strong. On the positive side, looking back, we've seen God deliver and strengthen us in ways we can only credit to your prayer and His grace.

* Criticism.
Our biggest critics have been Christians. Most of our Christian friends have encouraged and supported us. And those of you who have gently challenged us in areas that you've felt we need to consider--WE THANK YOU. I'm talking about Christians who are more interested in finding a church where they can consume, than being the church themselves, Christians camped on the sidelines happy to tell you what you are doing right and wrong, instead of getting into the game by befriending and loving their neighbors, letting Jesus live through them. I've always known this is an issue but I've never felt if so vividly than when planting a church. We have found non-Christians to be more ready to give of their time and money to support what we do than consumer Christians!

Here's a summary of what's been pure joy:
* Jesus.
Jesus is a million times bigger than we ever imagined. Jesus is not just the guy who died on the cross. Too often He is treated as only the entry point to salvation instead of the delight of our life. He is the reference point for reality, the first and the last---he is not simply a person to be preached--He is a person to be loved, delighted in, the King of Kings...He is all we really have for sure and that brings joy beyond words.

* Love and romance.
I have never been more in love with my best friend and lover. Running side by side on the front line of spiritual warfare and ministry does something amazing to your marriage. A military wife told a national audience, "The military will break your marriage or make it stronger." The same is true of church planting.

* The power of the Holy Spirit.
I am discovering that the Spirit will blow your imagination with what He can do through you if you just let Him. Our human nature is to credit human ability for ministry fruit. But it's a lot more about surrender than gifting, following the Holy Spirit than coming up with a ministry strategy. Pastor Tim Hawks once said, "Get out a blank pad of paper and let God write your story. In spite of all your planning and strategy, let God write it." God has worked through us the most when we have felt the weakest and lowest.

Here's a rundown of ministry milestones that Jesus has accomplished in the last 6 months, proving that He's still building His church:

* 6 professions of faith
* 4 baptisms (the 4th is this Friday) Ten friends still far from God watched the last baptim.
* 3 faith communities (a 4th is launched in 2 weeks)
* 7 missional core
* Over 100 friends/contacts most of whom are seeing and hearing the gospel (these are people who do not consider themselves Christians)
* Launch of DoingChurchInReverse.com and sites on Youtube, facebook, and linkedin.
* Revamp of old divide the word website into 2MakeHimFamous.com - an information hub to prod Jesus-followers to live missionally
* Networking with Avendaro Apts, Verde Shadowbrook Apts., Communities in Schools, and Austin New Church to help serve the community and those who are broken financially.

Please pray for me that I will put KK, the kids, our guests, and unbelievers first, my interests second.